Sanjay Chikara

An educator, mentor, and coach at heart, I thrive on upskilling people at work and outside to achieve their goals. My purpose is to cultivate others to reach their maximum potential. At ION, as Director and Country Head of India, I work with people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and education levels to grow ION across the country. I lead over 1300 people across our offices in Noida, Gurgaon, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, and Mumbai. I was born and brought up in the small town of Western Uttar Pradesh. I graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, in 1992. Every position I held after graduating helped me get closer to my higher purpose. My professional journey started as a Sales and Marketing specialist for Utilities and Chemical Industries in North India, followed by working as a Business Analyst for the UK and Nordic energy markets. I’m an advocate of physical fitness. My passion for long-distance running motivates me to train regularly for the marathon and ultra-marathon distances. I encourage and coach people at work and outside to adopt a healthy living lifestyle. I have successfully inspired thousands of people to regularly run or take up other physical activities such as yoga, gym, and other outdoor sports. I have completed some most reputed and challenging long-distance races like Comrades Marathon in South Africa and Ladakh Marathon in India. I aim to participate and win a position at the Indian Master’s National Sports podium in marathon distance (42.2 km).